Dead Man Walking "A Screaming Past Turns Into Silent Future" CD
[Striving for Togetherness]
Thankfully the jangly clean guitar intro is not at all representative of what this German band has to offer, as afterwards they spring into some dissonant (lightly metallic) hardcore with screaming vocals trading off between various levels of harshness, eventually landing on fast old school styled chord progressions. The remainder of the brief EP is totally devoid of any emo nonsense, so I have no idea what that intro was about. Other than that they bring in some melodic octave chords and a few more involved riffs that make better use of dual guitar interaction, and that's pretty much the bulk of it. Expect short songs that never hit three minutes, so this thing's over before you know it. "Dear You" opens with a powerful midpaced run, while "Broken Mirrors" follows with a shorter and faster framework that acts as a great burst of energy midway through the EP, "Ain't Love Grand?" is one of the slowest and most melodic pieces (odd for being a mere 39 seconds), etc. The recording's raw, but the mix is pretty even, so it works out. The rhythm section sounds pretty good, the vocals are dry and sort of thin, and the guitars are slightly dirty but basically get the job done. I think the vocals need to be reigned in against the music (I kind of think the vocals lack force and should be shouted more than screamed), and a heavier core could be nice, but they're sitting in a decent place. I'm not bothered. I love the high contrast black and white with pink artwork on the outer packaging, and the black and white designs inside are strong as well. I'm confused by all the photos scattered across the pages as most seem personal (a girl in her underwear, couples kissing, etc.), but then there's a shot of a burning police car and someone at some sort of protest rally or something? I guess that makes sense since one song's lyrics seem to go that route as well, whereas the others are all personal/love gone wrong types. Not bad. I'm not totally into it, but the better songs definitely insinuate that these guys could drop a killer record. "Rusty and Torn" is a compactly awesome ending, and I think if they focus their efforts a bit more they'll nail it. (6/10)
Running time - 13:50, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Broken Mirrors, Ain't Love Grand? Rusty and Torn]
Striving for Togetherness Records - http://www.strivingfortogetherness.de

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